Yield Problems

"Genetically modified crops could help us grow more food on less land in a world struggling to cope with climate change, say biologists. Rubbish, respond those opposed to GM technology — all they do is boost the profits of multinationals. Right now, there is some truth to this criticism. None of the GM crops widely grown around the world are designed to boost yields directly — but that could be about to change. A team of researchers announced today that they have genetically modified wheat to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis. ..... For the field tests, they have created strains of a spring wheat called Cadenza with anywhere from one to six extra copies of the gene for SBPase. Cadenza is an old wheat variety that is no longer grown commercially. If the trial succeeds, newer strains of wheat would need to be modified to create commercial products – but that’s a long way off..."
Trials planned for GM superwheat that boosts harvest by 20%
New Scientist, 4 November 2016

"The nation-wide data on maize, cotton, or soybean in the United States do not show a significant signature of genetic-engineering technology on the rate of yield increase... both GE crops and the percentage of cropping area farmed with no-till and reduced-till practices have increased over the last two decades. However, cause and effect are difficult to determine...."
Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, United States, May 2016

A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists has found that food and feed GM crops in the United States have done little to improve crop yields with increases in production coming from other plant breeding technologies (Bloomberg, 14 April 2009)
Poor GM performance leads farmers in Brazil's top soy state to start returning to non-GM soya varieties, but concerns are growing that high performance non-GM lines may not be made available by seed companies in the future (Reuters, 13 March 2009)
Roundup Ready sugar beet has delivered a disappointing performance in its first year of growing in the United States (Farmers Weekly, 6 February 2009)
GM canola in Canada has not increased yields and costs more, and contamination of non-gm crops means that growing the latter is no longer possible (Weekly Times, Australia, 26 February 2009)
GM canola (oilseed rape) has yielded less than non-GM canola in Australian field trials (Australian Associated Press, 16 January 2009)
Non-GM Cotton Just As Or More Profitable As GM (American Society of Agronomy, 11 February 2008)
Problems persist with inadequately tested Bt Cotton varieties in India - Financial Express, India, 5 June 2006
Inferior grain yields from Bt maize - Field Crops Research 93: 199-21, September 14, 2005
Seed yields are down from US GM cotton varieties - Delta Farm Press 18 August 2005
Indian state bans Bt cotton following poor agronomic performance - India News, May 2005
Brazil - GM soya yields hit hard in drought conditions compared to conventional varieties
Crop failure and major   husbandry problems with Monsanto's Bt cotton in India
GM crops under fire after Bt cotton venture fails in India
GM plants no panacea - Monsanto Admits to Bt crop problems - New Scientist Report
USDA Report Exposes GM Crop Economic Myths
'Welsh Farmer' - Flaws in GM crop trials - Feb 2002
Disease hits RR soy - Court awards large damages
Bt cotton fails in Indonesia
Study Questions Widespread Use of Bt Corn
Soya study casts doubt on GM decision making process
Soya realities expose GM hype - yields down, pesticides up
Monsanto 'MAB' progress reinforces positive FAO world food forecast
GM rape heading for agronomic scrap heap?
GM cotton growers hitting fibre quality problems?
Glyphosate treated GM soy regime impact on soil micro-organisms
Effect of RR soy regime on nitrogen fixation
Low Yields from RR soya - Nebraska University Study - Comments by NLP Wessex
Low yields from GM soya - University of Nebraska
Sugar beet study exposes media manipulation by GM industry
GM firm faked test figures - herbicide resistant maize
GM Rape fails to perform as study reveals erroneous basis for UK fieldscale trials
Why millions of acres of underperforming GM crops are being grown in the USA
No yield or cost benefits from Roundup Ready Corn - University of Kentucky Study
(Full RR corn Kentucky report - pdf format - click here)
Low GM soya yields - Wisconsin study short summary
Low GM soya yields - University of Wisconsin
More GM cotton failures in 1998
Low yields from UK GM rape and sugar beet crops - NIAB trials
Little benefit to farmers from GM crops - Farmers Weekly
Monsanto approach to sustainability
Low yields from GM cotton
Monsanto's GM soyabean hit by fungus outbreak
GM potato yields collapse
GM oilseed rape outperformed by traditional unmodified varieties
Monsanto pays millions in compensation to US GM "Roundup-Ready" cotton growers
Cyanamid claim yield losses of up to $43 per acre with Monsanto's GM Soya
Mississippi cotton farmers to sue Monsanto for Roundup-Ready failures
Calgene Flavr Savr tomato defective and withdrawn from market
GM cotton crop failures
New Scientist report on gm cotton failures
New York Times article on gm cotton failures
Boll Drop Problems in Roundup-Resistant GM Cotton
Performance problems with Roundup Ready GM Cotton
Monsanto GM soya defective in hot conditions - (see last item)
Organic soya outperforms conventional soya in drought conditions

Return To NLPWessex GM Page